1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to techniques and equipment for performing surface treatments over large areas, and deals more particularly with an automated method and apparatus for performing surface treatments using an automated guided vehicle.
2. Background
It is sometimes necessary to treat large and/or complex surface areas of a structure. For example, paint or other coatings are often applied to the outer surfaces of vehicles such as airplanes, usually by spray coating, within a paint booth or similar confined area. Due to the contours and/or features of aircraft skins, surface preparation such as sanding, scuffing, cleaning and subsequent painting are often carried out by hand. However, material surface preparation and painting is labor intensive, slow and may be subject to human error.
Attempts have been made to partially automate surface preparation and/or painting processes using robots to move sanding heads and paint spray heads over the skin of the aircraft, however these known robotic processes have limitations. For example, because of the size of commercial aircraft, robotic painters must be repositioned a number of times in order to reach most areas of the aircraft. Repositioning of the robots requires adjusting the robot relative to each section of the aircraft at each new placement position of the robot. Moreover, known robotic painters may not be able to reach certain areas of the aircraft, such as the underbelly or keel due to the limited space between the underbelly and the ground. Thus, even when robotic painters are employed, the underbelly of the aircraft as well as other hard-to-reach surfaces must be painted by hand. The task of automating surface treatment of aircraft skins is further complicated by the volatile nature of solvents, coatings and paints which must be applied in explosion proof environments, such as large area paint booths where the presence of potential ignition sources should be minimized.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for treating surfaces of a structure such as an aircraft, which are fully automated and capable of reaching surface areas that are located within confined areas and/or areas having limited access. There is also a need for a method and apparatus of the type mentioned above which may be safely used in explosion proof environments where ignition sources are to be avoided.